[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skeetch79:
I am a Dev S4 owner and I can tell you that the root and ROM methods are extremely easy. The only thing is that we do not have any factory images to fall back to (as a safety net in case you screw something up) - but once you become versed and more advanced, check out this thread (http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2483619) which is a compilation of stock images for the various partitions of the Dev S4 on I545OYUAMDK (boot, recovery, system, etc - you will need Heimdall to flash these). So first thing of order once a custom recovery is installed is to do a full Nandroid Backup. That will serve as your safety net.

The phone comes bootloader unlocked. First thing would be download the latest samsung USB drivers (http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/SCH-I545ZKAVZW - then scroll down and choose the downloads tab. download the EXE and install). In order to root the phone, the easiest way would be to reboot the phone into download mode (volume down+power, you will see a warning, press volume up to enter download mode). Once in download mode connect the phone to your PC. Download Odin 3.07 or Odin 3.09 (http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2189539) along with either Philz Touch Recovery IMG (http://d-h.st/users/philz_touch/?fld_id=18376#files - you want the latest jfltevzw.tar.md5 file, 5.18.2 (http://d-h.st/HZD)) for a clockworkmod based recovery or TeamWin's TWRP recovery (http://teamw.in/project/twrp2/181 - done through Goo Manager on the app store). Once Odin is loaded and your phone is recognized (you will see it listed on a comm port under the text that says "ID:COM", make sure ONLY "Auto Reboot and "F. Reset Time" are checked....everything else must be unchecked! Very important (double check and recheck, especially that Re-Partition is UNchecked)! Load your recovery tar.md5 file into the PDA slot on the right (actually middle of the window). Once loaded and your phone is recognized and you have made sure the two boxes are the only ones checked, hit the Start button.

If all goes well, your phone will reboot and you will see the word "pass" in green in the upper left above the ID:COM field. Test your custom recovery by booting into it. To enter recovery power of your phone. Then hold down "Volume Up" + The Home Button and the Power button all at once. Once you feel the phone vibrate, let go of the Power button but keep the Volume up and home button pressed, you will see small blue text in the upper left corner of the phone and you will soon be in recovery. Once in recovery make a nandroid backup, preferably your external sdcard. Once done, reboot the phone to TouchWiz.

In the meantime, download the latest SuperSu package (http://download.chainfire.eu/351/SuperSU/UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.65.zip?retrieve_file=1) and put it on your External SD Card. Once done, power off your phone. Again, to enter recovery hold down "Volume Up + The Home Button and the Power button. Once you feel the phone vibrate, let go of the Power button but keep the Volume up and home button pressed, you will see small blue text in the upper left corner of the phone and you will soon be in recovery. Once in recovery choose "Install Zip" and select sdcard1 (or external card) and then selct the Supersu zip and proceed to flash. Reboot your phone and you should have full root and custom recovery.